A robbery team has been launched today by Nottinghamshire Police to target the county's most serious and prolific offenders.

The team of one Detective Sergeant and six Detective Constables has been established as part of the recruitment of 40 new front-line officers paid for by the recent council tax precept increase.

The team is based at St Ann's police station

It comes as robbery offences have risen in Nottinghamshire, as well as nationally, over the last year.

The team is based at St Ann's police station but will be a "dedicated resource" throughout the force area to investigate the most serious, often armed, robberies and carry out proactive operations in hot-spot areas.

They are in addition to the range of officers - such as CID, response and neighbourhood teams - who already investigate robberies.Nottinghamshire Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford said: "This shows our commitment to investing in additional front-line officers and spending public money wisely and where it is most needed.

"I think it is important we are proactive and meet the challenge head-on with a team whose sole focus is tackling those individuals who engage in such criminality across Nottinghamshire."

Chief Superintendent Rob Griffin, head of local policing for Nottinghamshire Police, said: "The team will focus on repeat offenders and high risk offending, as well as repeat locations and series of offending. This will include weapon-enabled robberies and where violence is used.

"Robberies are extremely upsetting for the victims, particularly when they are threatened or even injured with a weapon. "Having a dedicated team means the officers are completely focused on tackling and reducing this type of crime and having a positive impact on community safety."

The team will work closely with the force's dedicated Knife Crime Team, using intelligence on those suspected of carrying weapons.

Detective Chief Inspector Kevin Broadhead, head of Nottinghamshire Police's County CID, said: "We have seen since the introduction of the force's Burglary Teams that having a dedicated resource can have a positive impact because it can focus on the areas where it can have the biggest impact.

"We hope the Robbery Team can have similar success to the Burglary Teams in helping to reduce offences."